Articles in Press

[KCLU] Symphony Brings Music Appreciation To Santa Barbara County Elementary Schools With Music Van

With many Central and South Coast school districts having limited resources for arts programs, a local orchestra is doing its part to introduce music to younger generations.

The Santa Barbara Symphony’s Music Van is giving thousands of third graders in the region the chance to hold, touch, and to even play orchestral instruments.

KCLU’S Lance Orozco caught up with the music van in Carpinteria.

[Independent] SB Symphony Pairs Music and Shakespeare

November 23, 2015

Actors and Musicians Share Stage at Granada

Having Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius scampering across the stage during the second half of this November 14 concert may have seemed unusual to audience members used to decorum in the orchestra, but to William Shakespeare, they would have been the only recognizable element. It’s amazing that a single author has had as profound an impact on another art form as Shakespeare has had on classical music, but what’s more incredible is that he could wield such influence on the symphony, which did not come into existence as we know it until more than one hundred years after his death.

There must be something in Shakespeare’s work that particularly stimulates the musical imagination. How else to explain the fact that in this program alone – between the Prokofiev Suite from Romeo and Juliet and Mendelssohn’s incidental music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream – we heard several of the most popular and enduring musical themes of any kind ever composed. What kind of night is it when the Wedding March places third in this category? Only Shakespeare.

[Casa Magazine] A Family Feud & Midsummer Night Dreams

November 20, 2015

From its icy opening chord, Prokofiev’s music to the ballet Romeo and Juliet perfectly describes the deadly confrontation between the play’s Capulet and Montague families that will ultimately engulf its two lovers, while Felix Mendelssohn’s incidental music to the bard’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream sparkles with puckish mirth and merriment. Composers, choreographers, visual artists, poets, even prizefighters have been inspired by William Shakespeare’s magical use of the English language for 300 years and counting. The Santa Barbara Symphony, in collaboration with actors from Ensemble Theatre Company, celebrated the playwright’s genius with a program titled Shakespeare Set To Music last weekend at the Granada Theatre. It was a feast of bard-inspired music that included a Suite by Sir William Walton from his film score for As You Like It; conductor Nir Kabaretti’s personal selection of seven scenes from Prokofiev’s monumental ballet, Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64; and from a teenage Felix Mendelssohn, the immortal melodies from his Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Op. 21 and 61 that have become universally recognized as a musical signature for the play ever since. The homage in sound and word delighted Saturday night’s audience.

[Scene Magazine] William, it was really something

November 15, 2015

Symphony brings Shakespeare (and actors) to The Granada

If music be the food of love, said Orsino in "Twelfth Night," play on. Expect an evening of love, then, with Santa Barbara Symphony's "Shakespeare Set to Music," three selections of Bard-inspired classical works conducted by Nir Kabaretti, who originated and designed the program. There are two chances to hear this romantic concert, tomorrow night and on Sunday, at The Granada Theatre.

The three works are a Suite from William Walton's score for "As You Like It," the "Romeo and Juliet" Suite for ballet by Prokofiev, and Mendelssohn's incidental music for "A Midsummer Night's Dream" featuring the unforgettable "Wedding March." You might just feel inspired to tie the knot or renew your vows right after.

These are three very different pieces, but what is making the evening more special is the collaboration with actors from Ensemble Theatre Company, who will perform some of Shakespeare's poetry during the Mendelssohn work, as it was written to be performed alongside the play. This makes the third collaboration between Executive Artist Director Jonathan Fox's Ensemble company and the Symphony, after music featured in Ensemble's "Amadeus," and actors reading Schumann's love letters during the Symphony's Valentine's Day concert.

[Noozhawk] Santa Barbara Symphony’s Renditions of Melodies of Shakespeare Will Grace The Granada

November 13, 2015

The upcoming pair of concerts by the Santa Barbara Symphony — at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015, both in The Granada Theater — bear the title Shakespeare Set to Music.

As the title hints, the program reflects three great composers — William Walton, Sergei Prokofiev and Felix Mendelssohn — responding in music to the words of the greatest dramatic poet in the English language, William Shakespeare.

Since it would be kind of perverse to celebrate Shakespeare's language without offering any examples of it, the Symphony, conducted by Music Director Nir Kabaretti, will be collaborating with the Ensemble Theatre Company (ETC) to treat audiences to a sprinkling of Shakespeare's verbal magic in the last work performed.

The program consists of the suite from Sir William Walton's score for the 1936 film of As You Like It; the Suite from Prokofiev's 1936 ballet, Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 and a suite of Mendelssohn's incidental music to A Midsummer Night's Dream, Opera 21 & 61 (1826 & 1843).

Santa Barbara Symphony’s Music Van Visits Monroe School

October 23, 2015

Students get up close and musical with orchestral instruments

Third-grade students at Monroe Elementary School in Santa Barbara got up close and musical with an assortment of orchestral instruments courtesy of the Santa Barbara Symphony’s award-winning Music Van this week.

A total of 47 students from two classes took part in a pair of sessions that included demonstrations and hands-on learning with volunteers and Santa Barbara Symphony Principal Bassoonist Andy Radford.

Participants were able to play a wide selection of donated brass, woodwind, percussion, and string instruments.

“The clarinet was my favorite because it’s fun to play and I like the way it sounds,” said Noah Arndt, age 8.

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The Santa Barbara Symphony was founded in 1953 on the belief that a special city deserves a special orchestra. For over 60 years, the Symphony has been lauded for its unique ability to deliver brilliant concerts, engage the community and deliver powerful music education programs.